Sometimes, a photograph captures a moment so personal, it provides an insight no other moment can, revealing truth. Even if it’s only true for that moment. Michael Tighe’s life seems like a string of these moments, resulting in some of the most striking photographs of celebrities PotatoMike has ever seen.

Vulnerable, alone, playful, authentic, moments we save for loved ones, almost uncomfortably intimate–these photographs are sometimes voyeuristic, sometimes accidentally honest, always moving. How can one man get so many amazing images? “To keep things interesting, I started shooting heroin,” says Tighe. “I made a mess of my life, I lost everything.” Perhaps Michael Tighe’s own personal struggle has earned him the compassion to scrutinize without judgement, to love unconditionally.

These famous people we thought we knew are revealed to be more like us–and yet more extraordinary– than we ever thought.